Category: Game Reviews
Straight-up reviews of officially released games, with a score
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Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear To The Rescue!
Developer: Traveller’s Tales Publisher: Activision Released: November 16, 1999 Rated: E 7/10 I feel like many Disney adaptations, for good reason, fall into the habit of representing something of the “stock average concept” of a video game for their times. In the 8 and 16-bit eras, mostly Capcom-published efforts accounted for a set of almost-exclusively Read more
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Snowboard Kids
Developer: Racdym Publisher: Atlus Released: February 1, 1998 Rated: E 7/10 The N64’s first brush with the extreme sports craze that produced dozens of snowboarding titles in the latter half of the ‘90s, Snowboard Kids boasts the setting and premise of a fast-paced downhill trickfest, but actually plays a lot more like a number of Read more
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Itoi Shigesato no Bass Tsuri No. 1 Ketteiban!
Developer: HAL Laboratory Publisher: Nintendo Released: March 31, 2000 6/10 Earthbound fans may often find themselves frustrated by Shigesato Itoi’s eclectic resume, but you’ve got to admire the man’s passion. Outside of his work with APE, Inc and contributions to the beloved Mother franchise across its three games (and any help he might have contributed Read more
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All-Star Baseball 2001
Developer: High Voltage Software Publisher: Acclaim Released: March 31, 2000 Rated: E 7/10 While still far from the likes of future titles like MLB Slugfest and The Bigs, new developer High Voltage Software was handed the keys for All-Star Baseball’s third and final iteration on the N64 and manages to offer a slightly flashier and Read more
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Quest 64
Developer: Imagineer Publisher: THQ Released: June 10, 1998 Rated: E 4/10 Again and again and again you hear the same thing about Quest 64: “the ONLY RPG for the Nintendo 64!” It’s not completely true, of course. Many games flirt with RPG elements and we would eventually get another, possibly worse role-playing game in 2001, Read more
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Dark Rift
Developer: Kronos Entertainment Publisher: Vic Tokai Released: July 8, 1997 Rated: T 2/10 In an alternate timeline, the N64 would be the great bastion of 3D fighting games, spawning great series left and right that combine great mechanics of the genre with a unique new visual style. Instead we have release after release of derivative Read more
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All-Star Baseball 2000
Developer: Iguana Entertainment Publisher: Acclaim Released: April 8, 1999 Rated: E 7/10 I admit, I was a bit surprised during my research to see just how much professional reviews improved between All-Star Baseball ‘99 and its immediate follow-up. It’s certainly a good yearly update, wisely without any major overhauls, but with the benefit of seeing Read more
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Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M.
Developer: Acclaim Studios London Publisher: Acclaim Released: December 9, 1999 Rated: T 4/10 I don’t know if there’s a game that has tricked me as often as Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M. (heretofore referred to exclusively as “Armorines” so I don’t have to type out the acronym with punctuation a dozen times). The first time I played Read more
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All-Star Baseball ’99
Developer: Iguana Entertainment Publisher: Acclaim Released: May 27, 1998 Rated: E 7/10 I can confidently say that out of all of Acclaim’s efforts in the world of sports video games during their run, baseball was easily their strongest and most consistent output up until their bankruptcy in 2004. Although the first title under the All-Star Read more
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Resident Evil 2
Developer: Angel Studios, Capcom Publisher: Capcom Rated: M Release Date: October 31, 1999 10/10 The monumental nature of Resident Evil 2 on the Nintendo 64 is twofold: the technical marvel that is its existence on a cartridge-based medium, and the genre-defining genius of the game as a whole. In the formative years of survival horror, Read more